Mail-carrier.



PATENTED MAR. '7, 1905.

A. J. KENNEDY.

MAIL CARRIER.

APPLICATION IILEI) JULY 11. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 784,266. PATENTED MAR. 1905. A.J.KENNEDY.

MAIL CARRIER.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 11. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NITED STATES Patented March 7, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

MAIL-CARRIER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,266, dated March 7, 1905. A plication filed July 11,1904. Serial No, 216,121.

To (Li/Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ANDREW J. KENNEDY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide cheap and effective means for carrying mail or small parcels from a streetor roadway to a residence, the apparatus being so arranged that the mail may be deposited or collected by the postal employee without leaving his wagon, while the householder may send or receive his mail without going to the street or roadway.

My invention is particularly useful in rural and suburban districts and can be adapted to carry or transfer mail over considerable distance.

In carrying out my invention I employ a wire track or way, a wheel carrier traveling on the track or way, a pivoted arm or mast to which one end of thetrack-wire is made fast,

and a take-up connected to the opposite end of the wire or way, so arranged that the inclination of the wire track may be changed and the carrier caused to travel in either direction by gravity.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevation showing two positions. Fig. 2 is a plan diagram. Figs. 3 and L are detail views, partly broken away, of the mast and its support. Figs. 5 and 6 are views of the carrier.

In carrying out the invention a suitable track-wire T is stretched from or adjacent to the point where the mail is to be receivedsay a dwelling-and a point where the mail is to be deposited or collected-say a street or roadway-and adjacent to thelatter pointis erected a post or standard 8, on which is pivoted a mast 9, to which one end of the track 7 is attached, A stirrup or keeper 1O limits the upward throw of the mast 9, whileits downward movement may be arrested by the top of the post 8.

An operating cord or cable 11 is made fast at one end say to a building and passes through a suitable runner in the track-wire T and through a guide 12, and by d rawing downwardly on the operating cord or cable the 1nclination of the track-wire is changedas, for

example, from the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 to that shown in dotted lines--the pull on the cord drawing the wire 7 endwise and swinging the mast 9 upwardly on its pivot. The release of the operating-cable will permit the mast to descend, causing the elevation of the inner end of the traclc-wire and the outward and downward inclination thereof.

A carrier, which may have a box-like body 13 with straight sides and sloping ends and a door 14 in one end, is adapted to travel on the trackway and for this purpose is provided with a grooved wheel 15. will be of suitable form and dimensions to receive letters, newspapers, and other mailable matter, and the inclination of the track or way will causethe carrier to travel by gravity The box or body therealong. In order to permit the car to hang properly, I prefer to provide the mast 9 with an arm 9 extending upwardly and approximately at right angles to the arm 9. This mast may be made of gas-pipe and be connected to a rock-shaft 9", mounted to turn on the arms 8 of the post 8. In order to afford means for indicating that the box of the car contains mail, a target may be atfixed to the bottom of the box, said target consisting of a plate 17, mounted to turn on a rod 18 and having a toothed engagement, as at 19, with the box, such engagement being maintained by the spring 20. The target when set with its face parallel to the sides of the box may be made to indicate that the car contains mail to be taken by the carrier on his route and when turned crosswise of the box to indicate to the owner that mail has been deposited therein.

The operation and utility of the apparatus are obvious.

I have described a very simple form of the apparatus, and particularly as to the operating means.

Of course it will be seen that instead of the operating-cable described other means might be employed for raising and lowering the track-wire.

The car when suspended over the street or roadway shouldbe within the reach of the carrier in his cart or on horseback, but preferably out of reach of a person on foot when used on rural routes. The mast may be of considerable length and will be so pivoted and the leverage so arranged as to make it feasible to elevate its outer end by a pull on the inner end of the track-wire.

I have described my invention as applied to the transfer of mail, but of course do not intend to exclude other analogous uses, nor to limit my invention to the exact detail of the construction.

Iclaim l. A carrier of the class described comprising, a wire track or way, a carrier adapted to move thereon, a post or standard, a mast or arm pivotally connected at its lower end to said post or standard and also connected at its upper end to the track or way, and means connected to the opposite end of the track or way whereby the latter is moved end wise and one of its ends is elevated and the other lowered to change its inclination and cause the carrier to travel thereon by gravity, substantially as described.

2. A carrier of the class described, comprisand means connected to the opposite end of said track or Way whereby the latter is moved endwise and one of its ends is elevated and the other lowered to change its inclination, and a carrier moving thereon by gravity, sub stantially as described.

3. A carrier of the class described,-comprising a wire track or way, a post or standard, a mast or arm pivoted thereon and connected to said track or way, an operating-cable connected to the track or way whereby the inclination of the track may be changed, a car movable by gravity along said way and an indicator mounted on the car, substantially as and for the purpose described.

ANDREW J. KENNEDY.

l/Vitnesses:

FREDERICK O. GOODWIN, W. RoY LITZENBERG. 

